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Twisted facts and incorrect assumptions about NGT plants

Misleading report published on behalf of the EU Parliament

13 October 2022 / On 20 October, the ‘Panel for the Future of Science and Technology’ (STOA) at the European Parliament will host a presentation of a new report on plants derived from new genomic techniques (NGT, also New Genetic Engineering or genome editing). The authors of the report “Genome edited crops and 21st century food systems challenges” and their institute, the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), are actively lobbying to deregulate agricultural plants derived from new genomic techniques (NGTs). However, the report fails to make this background transparent.

US company runs into trouble over soy from New Genetic Engineering

Calyxt raised high expectations

29 September 2022 / Calyxt was the first company to bring seeds derived from New Genetic Engineering to the US market. In 2019, the company started selling seeds for growing a soybean that had been genetically engineered in its oil content with gene scissors, and was supposedly suitable for the production of particularly healthy food. However, the soybean failed to produce the desired yields for farmers, and in 2020 Calyxt exited this line of business due to unprofitability. Sales and the value of Calyxt stock fell dramatically as a result.

Canada: Genetically engineered oilseed rape crosses out into wild species

Glyphosate-resistant weed on the rise

21 September 2022 / In Canada, cross-pollination of genetically engineered oilseed rape into a related weed species has occurred, and the weed is now spreading in the fields. This was revealed in a recent study by Canadian scientists. The spread of the plants challenges previous assumptions about their safety.

The CRISPR/Cas ‘gene scissors’ birthday

Ten years ago a crucial scientific paper paved the way for New Genetic Engineering

9 August 2022 / On 17 August, ten years ago, a crucial scientific paper officially published, for the first time described how CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to induce targeted genetic changes in the genome. It is a process which uses an RNA molecule as a ‘tracer’ to guide the gene scissors to a specific site in the genome where they are activated. The enzyme Cas9 vital to this process was originally found in bacteria and belongs to the category of nucleases which have the potential to cut the double strands of DNA.